Silverwolf
Rowankind Book Two
by Jacey Bedford
Daw, $7.99, 432pp
Published: January 2017

Like the first book, Winterwood, this is a fantasy novel filled with magic, fairies, shapeshifters and ghosts. There is also adventure, history, romance and, yes, even sea battles with swashbuckling pirates! Silverwolf is the second in the author’s Rowankind series. It begins a short time after Winterwood ends.

Summoner witch, Rossalinde Tremayne, or Ross as she's called, is taking a much needed holiday in the woods with her lover, Corwen, a shapeshifting wolf. Their idyllic time together is short-lived, as some of the magical repercussions caused by Ross's freeing the Rowankind is starting to wreak havok on the outside world. An envoy of the Lady of the Forest has come to recruit them to help handle a Kelpie, who has eaten one child and stolen another. That is just the beginning of the magical journey that the story weaves for them.

In the midst of this, a pressing letter is sent to Corwen, beckoning him back to a home which he left years before, due to family secrets and a falling out with his father. As Corwen and Ross make the long journey home, they manage to get engaged as well as have a few misadventures along the way.

Once home, Ross gets to learn about Corwen's past and meets his dominating mother and his endearing, as well as intelligent, sister, Lily. Corwen learns of his father's illness, his older brother's death, the mysterious decline of the family business, oh, and that his twin brother, Freddie, who has not come to terms with his inner wolf, has run off to London.

As Corwen and Lily strive to save the family business, we find out more about the abilities of the Rowankind and what happened to many of them after Ross freed them in book one. There is much intrigue surrounding the decline of the business and the man who has been running it for the family. As Lily steps in to take over things for the time being, Corwen and Ross get married and use the guise of honeymoon to go looking for Freddie in London.

I don't want to venture too far into spoiler territory, but London keeps them busy, what with abductions, intrigue, goblins and even a sea battle that's a glorious combination of pirates and magical creatures taking on an evil enemy. As the story comes to its climax, there is much tension and fear for the future, leaving us wanting answers and waiting with bated breath for book three of the series, Rowankind.

The author, Jacey Bedford, did a fantastic job of fleshing out many of the main characters as well as some of the supporting ones. I liked exploring Corwen's family with Ross; they were a well-written bunch, especially his sister, Lily. Her character was interesting and I hope to see more of her in future stories.

I really enjoyed the build of this book. It was a good follow-up to Winterwood and I'd recommend you read that first before picking this one up. It will make things much more understandable and enjoyable overall. ~~ Dee Astell